The man who shot and killed American Sniper hero Chris Kyle has been found guilty of capital murder. Eddie Ray Routh will serve life behind bars without the possibility of parole after a jury declared the "troubled veteran" shot Kyle, who inspired Clint Eastwood's hit new film, and his friend Chad Littlefield at a Texas gun range in 2013.
During an emotionally-charged end to the two-week trial, Littlefield's stepbrother, Jerry Richardson, read a statement to Routh in court.
He said, "Because of you and your irresponsible choices, we lost a great son, brother, father and uncle... and that will never change. Those are traits you'll never experience, because you took the lives of two heroes - men who tried to be a friend to you. And you became an American disgrace."
During the closing arguments, Kyle's widow Taya closed her eyes as she listened to Routh's defence lawyer attempt to convince the jury his schizophrenic client was deluded and believed in his mind that his victims "were going to kill him".
Tara Kyle eventually stood and walked out of the courtroom, slapping the door with her hand in apparent disgust as she left.
District Attorney Alan Nash urged the jury to convict Routh stating, "It's time for his deep well of excuses for violent criminal behaviour to come to an end."
Before the verdict was read on Tuesday night (24Feb15), the members of the jury were reminded exactly what happened at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range on 2 February, 2013, as Kyle and Littlefield attempted to befriend a fellow veteran.
Routh shot Littlefield in the back and then turned his gun on Kyle and shot him six times. Realising that Littlefield was still alive, the gunman shot him twice through the head.
At the end of Eastwood's film, Bradley Cooper, who portrays war hero Kyle in the film, heads off to the shooting range with the actor playing the real-life sniper's killer.

The widow of the Navy SEAL played by Bradley Cooper in American Sniper has expressed her gratitude to the actor for his onscreen efforts after he lost out at the Oscars on Sunday (22Feb15).
The movie, which starred Cooper as crackshot gunman Chris Kyle, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but only landed one prize for Best Sound Editing.
Cooper missed out on the Best Actor award to Brit Eddie Redmayne, but Kyle's widow Taya insists her husband would have been very proud of everything the cast and crew achieved.
Speaking at the awards show, Taya Kyle told America's ABC news, "I'm so grateful for everything that went into this movie. I wanted to be here to represent Chris, obviously, and it's not the ideal time to do that, but I still wanted to embrace everything that he should be here to do with me... He (Cooper) absolutely got it right... He (Kyle) would be absolutely blown away, and he would be his usual humble self, laugh at himself, probably make fun of it in some ways, but deep down, he would be really, really happy... It's (the movie is) something he would be proud of."
Taya Kyle took time out from attending the trial of her husband's accused killer to attend the glitzy awards show. Former marine Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is currently on trial in Texas accused of killing Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in February, 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Producers behind Bradley Cooper's acclaimed drama American Sniper decided not to show Chris Kyle's death in the film following a phone call from his widow.
Cooper plays crackshot Navy SEAL Kyle in the Oscar-nominated movie, and the production was thrown into turmoil after the film's real life subject died at a gun range in Texas in 2013. Screenwriter Jason Hall has now revealed Kyle's widow Taya called the team five days after her husband's death and asked for it not to be featured. He tells the New York Daily News, "Five days after Chris (died), (Taya) called and said, 'This is going to be how my children remember their father, so I want you to get (it) right'... We went around and around (trying to find an appropriate ending)... In the end, I think we felt that this was a film about Chris' life and not about his death... I didn't want it to be the thing that was hanging over their (the children's) heads for the very rest of their lives as the film that showed their father getting shot."
The film ends with Cooper's character arriving at the shooting range and then cuts to his funeral. Former marine Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is currently on trial in Texas accused of killing Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in February, 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Jury selection in the trial of Eddie Ray Routh, who is accused of killing Chris Kyle - the subject of Clint Eastwood's new movie American Sniper, has begun in Stephenville, Texas. Prosecutors claim Routh, 27, shot and killed Kyle and another man at a Texas gun range in February, 2013.
Lawmakers and court officials must now wade through the 700-plus people who have been called as potential jurors to find the panel of 12 and two alternates, who will decide Routh's fate.
His defence attorneys had requested a delay in proceedings due to the success of American Sniper, which scored a third week at number one at the North American box office on Sunday (01Feb15), but they were denied.
Routh will plead not guilty by reason of insanity, according to his legal team.
Jury selection is expected to last four days and the trial is scheduled to begin next week (11Feb15).
Kyle, who is portrayed by Bradley Cooper in the Oscar-nominated film, was a prolific Navy SEAL sniper.

Bradley Cooper offered a moving tribute to real life American Sniper hero Chris Kyle at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon on Monday (02Feb15), exactly two years after the Navy SEAL's shocking death.
The Hangover star has won a Best Actor nomination for playing Kyle in the acclaimed new film, and he joined fellow nominees at the Academy's annual celebratory lunch in Beverly Hills, California. The event on Monday took place on the second anniversary of Kyle's death in 2013, and Cooper revealed he was left reeling when the film's subject was killed while the movie was in the production phase.
He told reporters, "The responsibility to play a human being when his family is still alive and it's still fresh was a huge endeavor and something that I knew was going to be important. I treated it in way I hadn't before. Kyle (died) two years to the day today, on February 2, 2013... (It was) a year and a half into our development and it changed everything. It became a different movie. It became more about the plight of the soldier and his family."
Navy SEAL sniper Kyle was killed in a shooting at a gun range in Texas at the age of 38 on 2 February, 2013. War veteran Eddie Ray Routh, 25, is awaiting trial on murder charges for allegedly gunning down Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield.

The Birds star Rod Taylor has died, aged 84. The Hollywood actor passed away at his home on Wednesday (07Jan15), surrounded by family and friends.
The Australia-born star was best known for his iconic role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic The Birds, opposite Tippi Hedren, who paid tribute to him in a statement.
It reads: "There are so many incredible feelings I have for him. Rod was a great pal to me and a real strength, we were very, very good friends. He was one of the most fun people I have ever met, thoughtful and classy, there was everything good in that man."
Taylor appeared in more than 50 films throughout his six-decade long career, including films such as The Time Machine, The Train Robbers, The Catered Affair, Sunday in New York, 101 Dalmatians, and his last acting credit, Quentin Tarantino's 2009 war film Inglourious Basterds, in which Taylor played Winston Churchill.
He also starred in a number of TV series, including Murder, She Wrote and Walker, Texas Ranger, and appeared in various stage productions in his native Australia.
Taylor is survived by his wife of 35 years, Carol, and their daughter Felicia.

A series of lawsuits have been filed against organisers of the South by Southwest festival by victims of a fatal car crash that marred the event earlier this year (14). Aspiring rapper Rashad Owens lost control of the car he was driving and steered into a crowd of music fans waiting outside The Mohawk Club in Texas in March (14).
Two victims, Steven Craenmehr and Jamie Ranae, died at the scene and more than 20 people were injured. Two further victims, DeAndre Tatum and Sandy Le, died from their injuries days after the tragedy.
A series of lawsuits were filed in three different courts in San Antonio, Texas on Thursday (18Dec14) on behalf of eight victims, including three who died, accusing festival organisers of negligence.
Craenmehr's widow and mother are among those filing a wrongful death lawsuit. They claim festival bosses skimped on traffic safeguarding, writing, "A festival organiser or traffic design consultant of ordinary intelligence would have anticipated the danger."
Their lawyer Scott Hendler says,“We want to hold South by Southwest accountable for the deaths that were the result of an absolutely preventable tragedy."
All lawsuits are seeking unspecified damages from festival organisers, as well as Owens and a local engineering company.
Owens has been jail on murder charges since March (14).

The fan who shot and killed Latin pop sensation Selena almost 20 years ago has appealed to prison officials for an early release due to declining health. Yolanda Saldivar, who served as the president of the singer's fan club until she was fired amid allegations of embezzlement, shot and killed Selena at a Texas hotel in 1995. She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life behind bars.
However, Saldivar recently filed a request with parole board officials for an immediate release from a detention centre in Gatesville, claiming she is suffering from severe kidney failure.
A decision about her petition has yet to be made, but it is unlikely the 54 year old's wish will be granted, according to TMZ.com. She is said to be suffering from a handful of medical issues, but is not sick enough to warrant early release.
Saldivar will not be eligible for parole until the end of March, 2025.

Friday Night Lights introduced the world to Taylor Kitsch and for that we are eternally grateful. But it also gave us so much more. The fantastic characters and realistic performances made it a show that went beyond high school football. It has since claimed its well-earned spot as one of the best shows ever to grace our TV screens. Even though FNL lasted for five seasons, we’re still not over it.
1. Tami and Eric Taylor’s relationship.
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Easily one of the best married couples to ever be portrayed on TV.
2. General Tim Riggins debauchery.
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Including, but not limited to, the day drinking, the affair with his best friend’s girl and that time he screwed the single mom who lived next door. Riggins, we wouldn’t have you any other way.
3. Tim Riggins' unwavering Texas pride.
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Pretty convinced no one loved Texas as much as Riggins.
4. The cockiness of Smash Williams.
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He was so full of himself, and we ate it up.
5. Tami Taylor's magical hair.
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Ok, technically it's Connie Britton's magical hair, and we can still see it on Nashville, but we miss how perfect Tami always looked.
6. Every time Coach Taylor went into over-protective dad mode.
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7. And on a related note, the fact that Kyle Chandler was a total DILF.
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8. Matt Saracen’s emotional scenes.
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Remember the petition to get Zach Gilford an Emmy nomination? Still bummed that nomination never happened.
9. Matt's grandma.
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We loved Grandma Saracen. And we loved how Matt took care of her.
10. How annoying Julie was.
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Yes, that's how much we miss FNL. We even miss Julie's whining.
11. The football games.
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Even if you weren't a football fan, these scenes were still exciting to watch.
12. Tim and Jason Street's friendship.
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That episode when they go to New York. Bromance at its best.
13. Landry's wise words of advice.
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We miss when Jesse Plemons was sweet, funny Landry. It helps us block out creepy Todd, his character on Breaking Bad.
14. The fact that FNL introduced a whole new set of characters in season four, and we ended up loving them just as much as the old ones.
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Hell yes, Michael B. Jordan. Go Lions!
15. Buddy Garrity. 'Nuff said.
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World's biggest football fan, and world's most obnoxious car salesman/human being. We loved watching him annoy everybody.
16. Coach’s inspiring pep talks.
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We don't even play football, yet we were ready to grab a helmet and get out on the field after one of these speeches.
17. The way Tim looked at Lyla.
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Swoon.
18. Whenever Lyla actually lightened up.
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And any scene involving Mindy Collette.
19. Landry and Tyra's relationship.
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We loved how this unexpected romance blossomed. (We'll just pretend that murder storyline from season two never happened, shall we?)
20. That feeling of victory.
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Rooting for the characters and then seeing them succeed was the best feeling ever.
21. The utterance of this phrase.
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Never forget.
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R&B singer Russell Neal has been charged with murdering his wife. The Hi-Five star's partner Catherine Martinez, 24, was found dead from multiple stab wounds on Wednesday (02Jul14) at their home in Houston, Texas.
Neal was arrested and taken into custody, and on Friday (04Jul14) it emerged he has been charged with murder, according to TMZ.com.
Hi-Five enjoyed hits in the 1990s with I Like the Way (The Kissing Game) and She's Playing Hard to Get. They split in 1994 but reformed in 2005.

Synopsis

Dramatization of the sensational Texas court case of the late '60s involving a noted Houston plastic surgeon, accused of doing away with his socially prominent first wife in order to marry somebody else. Based on the book by the doctor's second wife, the film resulted in an Emmy Award nomination for Andy Griffith's performance as the horsewoman socialite's oilman father, who suspected foul play in his daughter's death and set out to avenge it. An Emmy Award went to editor John A. Martinelli.